[Iain_Ryan]

Hi all

I have had a chap doing some casual work for me recently. Things are now picking up and I need to get things straight regarding him working on a self employed basis. Providing I advise him that he is responsible for registering as self employed and therefore will be responsible for paying his own tax and Nat Ins contributions, this is sufficient to cover me? Yes? No? Any advice welcome.

Iain

[Fox]

Iain

In effect you are sub-contracting your work to this person.  He needs to use his own equipment, have his own H&S policy, own insurance and issue you an invoice for works carried out.

[George-Reid]

Iain
He also has to work for others and be able to prove it, otherwise he will still be classed as an employee.

Cheers

George

[Ian Rochester]

Iain,

See the thread in General Cleaning regarding self employed cleaners, I added the Business Link definition of self employed to it, if he can fit that criteria ok, if he only works for you and you supply him with equipment etc, then he is an employee.

Hope it helps, it's not easy and a big decision to start employing staff.

[Iain_Ryan]

Many thanks all, fine lines and grey areas!! Thanks for the advice.

Regards

Iain

[Musicman]

Iain, and anyone else thinking of taking on staff on a self-employed basis can you please answer the following questions:-

Why you would want to take people on on this basis rather than employ them?

Why do you think you should have this unfair (and almost certainly illegal) advantage over the rest of us decent and genuine employers?

Do you think that a cleaner (who is generally speaking not going be the most astute person in the world) should be responsible for submitting their own tax returns and/or employ an accountant to do it for them - at their own personal expense?

Are you going to come back on here in a few months time bleating that someone you took on as a self-employed cleaner has 'stolen' some of your customers - as happened earlier this year?

Just a bit of food for thought...

To refine George Reid's comment, they have to prove that they are working on a self-employed basis for others and be able to prove it.

Musicman

[adl]

Just to take this a stage further, if you employ self employed people to do the job then you are effectively sub-contracting the work out, the main problem in this is that the sub contractor must be insured as he wont come under your general P/L insurance. so if there is an accident on site and the subby denies or does a runner you will not be insured, also if you are paying cash in hand and their is not a casual staff clause in your insurance then your not covered, this could lead to all sorts of litigation against yourself. In short, keep it legal, pay your taxes, and keep the industry professional, it is the cowboys who always lose their contracts and their reputation.

regards Dave ADL

PS if anyone has issues with tax or ni phone the inland revenue they will send an adviser to your workplace to go through all the inn and outs of the subject.